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Measles (Khasra)

One of the most contagious diseases on Earth, and the cause of SSPE. Two doses of vaccine protect your child.

Dr. Sana Fatima Updated 8 November 2026 8 min read Draft · awaiting Dr. Sana's medical review

At a glance

  • Measles killed an estimated 95,000 people in 2024, most of them children under 5. 1
  • One sick person can infect up to 18 others, and the virus can stay in the air for up to 2 hours. 1
  • A person is contagious from 4 days before the rash appears until 4 days after. 1
  • Two doses of the vaccine are 97% effective. 6
  • At least 95% of children need two doses to stop outbreaks, but only 77% worldwide got both in 2025. 12
  • After measles before age 1, about 1 in 910 medically attended cases later developed SSPE, a fatal brain disease (Japan, 2026). 13

What it is

Measles (khasra in Urdu) is an infection caused by a virus. It spreads through the air when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes. It causes a high fever and a rash all over the body, and it can lead to pneumonia, brain swelling, blindness or death. A safe vaccine prevents it.

Symptoms

  • 7–14 days after contact: symptoms begin. 11Measles: key facts — World Health Organization, 2026. who.int
  • First few days: high fever, runny nose, cough, and red, watery eyes. Tiny white spots may appear inside the cheeks. 177Measles — NHS, 2025. nhs.uk
  • 3–5 days later: a blotchy rash starts on the face and behind the ears, then spreads down the body. It is harder to see on brown skin. 17
  • Recovery: the illness usually starts to improve in about a week. 7

See a doctor urgently if

Your child with measles: 7

  • has a fit (seizure)
  • breathes fast, struggles to breathe, or the skin sucks in under the ribs
  • is very sleepy, floppy, confused or hard to wake
  • has a stiff neck or finds light painful
  • is drinking much less, or passing little urine
  • has eye pain or trouble seeing (measles can cause blindness) 1

Who is most at risk

  • Children who are unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated, especially those under 5. 1
  • Babies under 9 months, too young for their first dose in Pakistan (55 confirmed cases in early 2026). 1010Measles kills 143 children in 2025 — The News, 2026. thenews.pk
  • Pregnant women, because measles can cause miscarriage, early birth and low birth weight. 1
  • Malnourished or vitamin A–deficient children, and people with weak immunity. 1
  • Adults, especially over 30, who have more complications. 155Measles Prevention and Treatment Overview for Healthcare Providers — CDC, 2026. cdc.gov

How it is diagnosed

Doctors suspect measles when a fever and a spreading rash come with a cough, runny nose or red eyes. A laboratory confirms it with a throat or nose swab tested for the virus (RT-PCR) or a blood test for measles IgM antibodies. 5 Phone the clinic before you go, so that staff can keep your child away from other patients. 5

Treatment

No medicine kills the measles virus, so doctors support the body while it recovers. 15

  • Fluids, food, rest and fever control. Your doctor will advise the medicine and the dose.
  • Vitamin A: WHO recommends two doses for children under 5 with suspected measles, one at diagnosis and one the next day. A third dose follows 4–6 weeks later if there are eye signs of deficiency. 1 The doctor decides the dose, because too much vitamin A is harmful. 5
  • Complications: antibiotics are used only for bacterial infections such as ear infections or pneumonia. 15 Severe cases need hospital care.
  • Isolation: keep the child away from others until 4 days after the rash began. 5

Prevention

  • Vaccine: Pakistan uses MR (measles-rubella) 88Pakistan to immunize more than 90 million children against measles and rubella — UNICEF, 2021. unicef.org; many other countries use MMR (measles-mumps-rubella). 66Measles Vaccination — CDC, 2026. cdc.gov
  • Pakistan EPI schedule: MR is given at 9 months and 15 months 8, free at government centres. 1111Pakistan reports 71 measles deaths in 4 months — Gulf News, 2026. gulfnews.com
  • Elsewhere: schedules vary; the US gives MMR at 12–15 months and 4–6 years. 5
  • Herd immunity: at least 95% two-dose coverage is needed to stop spread. 22Measles deaths down 88% since 2000, but cases surge — World Health Organization, 2025. who.int
  • After contact: for someone who is not immune, a vaccine dose within 72 hours can prevent the illness or make it milder. People who cannot be vaccinated, such as babies under 6 months, pregnant women and people with a severely weak immune system, can get immune globulin within 6 days. 5

The situation now (2025–2026)

World. WHO estimates about 11 million infections and 95,000 deaths in 2024, with 59 countries having large outbreaks (report of 28 Nov 2025). 12 In 2025, 84% of children got a first dose and 77% got both (fact sheet updated 15 Jul 2026). 1 Countries had reported 334,717 cases to WHO for 2026 (provisional data as of October 2026). 33Measles and Rubella Global Situation Update, October 2026 (provisional) — WHO, 2026. immunizationdata.who.int

United States. As of 5 Nov 2026, CDC counted 5,182 confirmed cases in 2026, more than double the 2,289 in all of 2025. 96% were linked to outbreaks. CDC's national count lists 4 deaths, which it marks as provisional. 44Measles Cases and Outbreaks — CDC, 2026. cdc.gov

Pakistan.

  • Cases: WHO provisional data list 13,509 cases for 2026 (as of October 2026), after 20,741 in 2025. From March to August 2026, Pakistan had the sixth-highest case count in the world. 3
  • Deaths: at least 71 children died in January–April 2026, 40 of them in Sindh (report of 26 Apr 2026). 11 At least 143 children died in 2025. 10
  • Who is getting sick: in early 2026, 93% of cases were under 5 and 52% had never been vaccinated (report of 25 Jan 2026). 10
  • Vaccination: WHO/UNICEF estimate 2025 coverage at 84% for the first dose and 83% for the second (published July 2026), both below 95%. 99WHO/UNICEF coverage estimates (WUENIC), Pakistan MCV1/MCV2 — WHO Global Health Observatory, 2026. ghoapi.azureedge.net ; ghoapi.azureedge.net

What the research says

  • Mina et al., Science 2019before-and-after cohort, n=77 unvaccinated children
    Measles erased 11–73% of each child's antibodies against other germs ("immune amnesia"). Vaccinated children did not show this loss. Read the study 12
  • Kobayashi et al., Pediatrics International 2026retrospective surveillance study, n=17 SSPE cases (Japan)
    The study estimated 1 SSPE case per 3,944 measles outpatient visits overall, and 1 per 910 in babies under 1. Read the study 13
  • Palisoc et al., Emerging Infectious Diseases 2026case series, n=20 children with SSPE (Philippines)
    Median age was 0.7 years at measles and 6.2 years at SSPE admission; four cases followed the 2018–2019 outbreak. Read the study 14
  • GBD 2023 Measles Collaborators, Nature Medicine 2026modelling study, 204 countries
    An estimated 15.6 million cases and 118,000 deaths occurred in under-5s in 2023, up 40% and 12% since 2019. Read the study 15
  • Memon et al., BMJ Global Health 2025registry study, n=6,227,450 children (Sindh)
    80.6% got the first MR dose but only 58.1% got the second. Only about a third received each dose on time. Read the study 16

Questions parents ask

Can vaccinated people get measles?

It is uncommon. Two doses protect about 97 in 100 people, and those who still catch it usually have a milder illness. 6

How long is measles contagious?

From 4 days before the rash appears until 4 days after. 1 Keep your child at home for at least 4 days after the rash starts. 7

Can adults get measles?

Yes. Anyone without immunity can catch it, and adults have more complications. 1 Unvaccinated adults should get vaccinated. 6

My child was near someone with measles. What should I do?

Call your doctor the same day, before you visit. A vaccine dose within 72 hours, or immune globulin within 6 days for high-risk people, can prevent the illness or make it milder. 5

Can my baby be protected before 9 months?

During outbreaks or before travel, doctors may give an early dose from 6 months. The baby still needs the routine doses later. 6

Is the measles vaccine safe?

Yes. Most children have no side effects, and serious reactions, such as a fit caused by high fever, are rare. 6

Myth vs fact

  • MythThe MMR vaccine causes autism.
    FactA study of 657,461 Danish children found that MMR vaccination did not raise the risk of autism. 17
  • MythIt is better to catch measles naturally.
    FactMeasles killed about 95,000 people in 2024 1, weakens immune memory 12 and can cause fatal SSPE. 13
  • MythVitamin A prevents measles.
    FactVitamin A is not a substitute for the vaccine, and too much is toxic. 5

Sources

  1. 1.Measles: key facts — World Health Organization, 2026. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/measles
  2. 2.Measles deaths down 88% since 2000, but cases surge — World Health Organization, 2025. https://www.who.int/news/item/28-11-2025-measles-deaths-down-88--since-2000--but-cases-surge
  3. 3.Measles and Rubella Global Situation Update, October 2026 (provisional) — WHO, 2026. https://immunizationdata.who.int/docs/librariesprovider21/measles-and-rubella/global-mr-update.pptx
  4. 4.Measles Cases and Outbreaks — CDC, 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/measles/data-research/index.html
  5. 5.Measles Prevention and Treatment Overview for Healthcare Providers — CDC, 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/measles/media/pdfs/2026/05/measles-prevention-and-treatment-overview.pdf
  6. 6.Measles Vaccination — CDC, 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/measles/vaccines/index.html
  7. 7.Measles — NHS, 2025. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/measles/
  8. 8.Pakistan to immunize more than 90 million children against measles and rubella — UNICEF, 2021. https://www.unicef.org/pakistan/press-releases/pakistan-immunize-more-90-million-children-against-measles-and-rubella
  9. 9.WHO/UNICEF coverage estimates (WUENIC), Pakistan MCV1/MCV2 — WHO Global Health Observatory, 2026. https://ghoapi.azureedge.net/api/WHS8_110?$filter=SpatialDim%20eq%20%27PAK%27 ; https://ghoapi.azureedge.net/api/MCV2?$filter=SpatialDim%20eq%20%27PAK%27
  10. 10.Measles kills 143 children in 2025 — The News, 2026. https://www.thenews.pk/print/1395120-measles-kills-143-children-in-2025-as-fresh-outbreaks-reported-across-pakistan
  11. 11.Pakistan reports 71 measles deaths in 4 months — Gulf News, 2026. https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/pakistan/pakistan-reports-71-measles-deaths-in-4-months-sindh-records-highest-toll-1.500519646
  12. 12.Mina MJ et al. Measles virus infection diminishes preexisting antibodies — Science, 2019. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31672891/
  13. 13.Kobayashi Y et al. Estimating the risk of SSPE after measles in Okinawa, Japan, 1986–2007 — Pediatrics International, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1111/ped.70483
  14. 14.Palisoc MP et al. SSPE after measles outbreaks, the Philippines, 2007–2022 — Emerging Infectious Diseases, 2026. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid3211.261395
  15. 15.GBD 2023 Measles Collaborators. Burden of measles and vaccine coverage among children under 5, 1990–2023 — Nature Medicine, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-026-04661-7
  16. 16.Memon M et al. Coverage and timeliness of measles immunisation in Pakistan — BMJ Global Health, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2024-016717
  17. 17.Hviid A et al. MMR vaccination and autism: a nationwide cohort study — Annals of Internal Medicine, 2019. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30831578/

This page summarises published research for education. It is not a diagnosis or a treatment plan. Always speak to your child's doctor, and go to the nearest hospital in an emergency.

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